The Black Rose
by The Beetle
Summary: The Satanic Skulls is a fairy gang that lurks in the back alleys of downtown Haven. Commander Trouble Kelp must find and shut them down before he gets burried in too deep. But will he kill the gang or will the gang kill him?
1. The Beginning

**A.N** This is my next story-I want to know what you guys all think of it and if Kirsty's around should I put it up on AFC? (This is the next story that I was talking about!) NMEC's, hope you all enjoy reading this and I really need to know what you think of it...XD

The Black Rose

By Beetle Juice

(a.k.a Jess)

Trouble Kelp pulled his hood down a little further as he walked quietly along a pitch black alleyway. He had been tracking a fairy gang for over three months now, they were known as the satanic skulls. Not a very original name, not even a very smart name but he didn't expect anymore from a cult such as theirs. They were best known for their skills in assassination and kidnapping, but they also did general jobs such as thieving and pick-pocketing. For a price that is. Their headquarters was in the back alleys of Haven, the place that Trouble least wanted to be at that moment.

His hand strayed towards his neutrino as he listened to the silent street. Being commander of the LEP didn't help much when your name was pulled up for a mission, he was replaceable. Foaly had given him a basic idea of where the gangs HQ was but no one really knew, no one alive that is. There was a scrapping sound from up ahead, it sounded as if someone was trying to wipe chewing gum off the bottom of their boot. As Trouble drew closer he found it to be a suspicious looking gnome wiping some sort of dark liquid onto the side walk.

"Evening man," Trouble said, trying to look as menacing as he could "doing business tonight?" The gnome looked up from the side walk,

"Aren't we all?"

"Everyone except those uptown whelps, they don't have to work for their

living." Trouble had had to take a course in street lingo before he'd taken on this mission.

"The bloody rich people and their LEP," Trouble pulled the hem of his jacket

down a little more just in case his badge was showing.

"I don't know what those LEP think there doing," Trouble lied easily "they're

useless slackers."

"As useful as trolls but payed a kings ransom," the gnome paused and thought

for a moment "I have to get back to work man, see you round." The other fairy

ambled off leaving a trail of what Trouble later found to be blood behind him. Maybe

Trouble followed this gnome he would lead him to the cults HQ, hopefully he would

find the building before sun up.

As Trouble tracked the unsuspecting gnome he did not realise he was being tracked himself. And not just by anyone, he was being tracked by a member of the Satanic Skulls. This person looked quite innocent at first glance but if you looked twice you would see that she was a formidable enemy. Yes, I did say she for the person was in fact female. One of the best female assassins in the business, there were rumours going around that she had once taken on hundreds of trolls and won. They called her The Black Rose. This was for two reasons, one she always wore black; black pants, jacket and even a black motorbike helmet. The other reason was because she was god dam pretty, but if anyone ever tried to get near her they would either be dead or in the emergency ward the next day.

The person she was following was a LEP officer; he had cleverly disguised himself as your average, everyday, run of the mill gangster (If there was one of those). But she could see through his disguise, the Black Rose could see through any disguise. This elf did a good job blending in with the natives; he must have spent sometime on the back streets. The Commander probably hadn't realised he was the most valuable hostage in Haven other than the centaur Foaly. That was why she was sat, shielded on a barred up window ledge in the freezing cold night air-she was here to kidnap him.

This would not going to be an easy mission; her boss didn't even expect her to complete it. All he had asked her to do was track the Commander and keep him away from the HQ. He had warned her; then and there that he was a very dangerous man. She had asked for his name but the boss had said it was not relevant to the mission, she would find it out anyway.

Trouble stopped, he had heard something in the alley behind him. If he turned to investigate he would probably lose the gnome that he was following; but it was a small price to pay for his safety. He turned and out the corner of his eye caught a movement in the shadows; it was gone before he could be sure he had actually seen anything.

"Hello?" He said to the darkness "I know that you're their so show yourself." Time passed but there was no answer, Trouble kept his tensed stance, eyes straining.

"Goodnight Commander," a voice whispered from the shadows "it was a pleasure meeting you." There was a high whistling noise from his left and Trouble only just had time to duck as a hypodermic dart flew through the air.

"Oh, a smart one," the voice said "this will be fun." Trouble was running before the fairy had time to reload its gun. He had spent so much time on the back streets that he knew every short cut and hiding hole, hopefully the person following him wasn't very high up on the street smarts. He could hear his pursuer running along the rooftops to his left; he had underestimated their level of skill.

"You won't get away from me today commander," the voice drifted in the wind that was rushing past his ears "I'm better than most hit men, their all idiots." That last statement had seemed a little odd, the way that the person had said it sounded as if they did not include themselves among the ranks of hit men. He decided to ponder this later, if he had estimated right he would be able to jump down a man hole up ahead and hide in the sewers till the coast was clear. Not a very dignified hiding spot he had to admit, but it was the best that he could think of at the time.

"Please let the pipes be empty," Trouble whispered as he turned the corner "I'll work for the rest of my life, as long as the pipes are empty." He kicked the cover off the man hole, ignoring the ladder that was there so you could easily lower yourself into the sewer system he jumped in. There was a sickly splash as his boots hit the concrete floor; luckily the sludge that rested there was only ten centimetres deep. The piping system was designed to carry waste water and other useless materials to a filtering facility where they are broken into their base elements and then pumped into the deep oceans that surround Atlantis. If they had the same use as the mud men's sewers above ground Commander Kelp would have gladly allowed the person who was after him to sink a hypodermic dart into his arm. But for now he had to wait in the dank darkness and hope that the gods were smiling on him.

**E.N** Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think-all ideas welcome also what I should have said before is that this is for a challenge called Prick a Thorn- You uhave to create a romance between two AF characters that has a dark seductive feel to it...what do you think? R&R for cookies! Cookieeeee!


	2. Meet the Gang

**A.N **Thanks to everyone who reviewed (and everything else that you guys did!) Here's the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and remember to R&R otherwise I won't know what you guys think of it!

The Black Rose was not happy; she had lost the commander and failed her mission in less than ten minutes. The boss would have her neck this time, she was sure of it. As she stalked silently back to HQ she couldn't stop herself thinking about the other members of her gang. There was Jolly who was anything but, Mr Grin who's smile was a permanent slash across his face from ear to ear and Eclipse. Eclipse was the only one that the Black Rose knew well; his real name was Adam Mack. He had earned the nickname Eclipse with his trademark hair style; one side of his hair was as white as the moon but the other side of his hair was black, black as the night. He specialised in assassinations, he could be paid thousands of ingots for a single hit. These were not the only reasons that the Black Rose knew him well; he was also her boyfriend for over two weeks now. Not the best boyfriend ever but better than any of the others who were vying for her attention.

She noticed that it was dark now; all of the sunstrips had been dimmed to replicate surface conditions. The streets were silent but she knew that there were crooks around; she could hear their boots scrapping on the concrete side roads. There were more of them around than usual though, Friday the 13th was a date that most underworld bad guys put down on their calendars to cause a bit of mischief on. She almost felt sorry for any civilians who were out on the streets that night, but then again they were only minors- not important.

The Black Rose had become so lost in thought that she almost missed something that was rather odd-a man hole cover. It was just sitting there, in the middle of the road as if it had crawled there by itself. She thought for a moment, if the cover was there then that meant there should be an uncovered man hole somewhere. Sure enough when she stepped a little closer to investigate the hole was not three feet away. The elf got down on her knees next to the chasm to investigate, this was a strange coincidence seen as she had only just lost the commander of the LEP.

"Hello?" she whispered "I know you're down there so why don't you come out now and there'll be no need for violence." She waited for an answer that never came.

"I will repeat myself once and only once, come out now and you won't be harmed."-_for now_ she added in thought. "Why do you refuse to come out commander?"

"Because I already am," a voice said behind her "and it's my turn to ask the questions now." The commander-for it was him-grabbed her from behind and forced her face down onto the concrete.

"What is your name elf?" The commander shook her head a little bit to emphasise his point.

"I don't have a name," she said in return.

"Of course you do," the commander was not as stupid as she had heard "everyone at least has a nickname in the gang circles. All I want to know is what is _yours_?"

"I'm not going to tell you LEP scum."

"Why are you kicking up such a fuss over a nickname?" the commander smacked her forehead into the ground "tell me it now!"

"The Black Rose," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I said the Black Rose," her voice was slightly raised.

"Do you have a second nickname?"

"The Rose or just Rose," she was getting thoroughly annoyed now "but why do you want to know?"

"It's not me that wants to know," the commander was being cryptic now "I have a friend who has everyone's numbers, he'll be able to pull up all of your background information down to your last gas bill."

"I'm going to hazard a guess that this friend of yours is none other than that infuriating centaur Foaly."

"If that's what your guesses are like I'd hate to see how good you are when you have actual information." Rose felt the commander shift at her back; presumably he was searching for a set of cuffs in his back pocket. "I'm tired of this entire small talk thing commander; I think that it's my turn to ask a few more questions now." The Rose reached behind her and grabbed the confused elf's wrist, from there she proceeded to throw him over her shoulder and jam her knee under his chin. His face seemed somehow familiar to her, he was obviously wearing contact lenses and had died his hair red but she felt like she knew him from somewhere other than the news.

"What's your name?"

"I think that it's only fair that I don't tell you," the commander was brazen in the face of danger "I still don't your real name anyway."

"I'm not joking around commander, if you don't tell me then I will kill you and ask someone else later when I have a few thousand ingots extra in my pocket." The commander swallowed and shook his head almost childishly, "fine, I will have to resort to torture then." She drew a small dagger from its holster in right boot and pulled it down the commanders jaw bone. She could see the pain in his eyes as the dagger drew a line down his chin, cutting through his soft flesh like wire through fresh clay.

"Maybe you would like to tall me your name now commander."

"Alright," he grimaced as she removed the knife from his face "there is no point playing the silent type."

"So what is it then commander?" The elf leaning over him actually seemed interested in his name, she, in reality seemed excited for some reason.

"Kelp, Commander Trouble Kelp," the roses' eyes widened in shock as she jumped up off his chest.

"Get out of here!" The Black Rose shouted "get out of here now and don't come back if you want to stay alive."

"Why?" Trouble shouted back "why should I go, why do you even care if I'm alive or not, I thought you wanted me dead in the first place."

"Please, don't ask questions," the Rose had already started to walk away "just get out of here while you still can and never come back, before its too late." Trouble was about to shout another question at her but the Black Rose had already disappeared into the darkness.

**E.N** Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think and feel free to ask me questions and stuff! Till next time, Good Luck and Goodnight (I am going to bed as soon as I have finished this!)

Jess (The Beetle)


	3. Rose

**A.N **This is the longest chapter that I've ever written for anything! Hope you all enjoy it but I have a feeling that I may be getting some death threats very soon! NMEC's, enjoy (Please don't kill me!)

Commander Kelp stood alone in a back alley; he couldn't get the would-be assassins words out of his head. Why did she care if he was in danger, she was the one who was supposed to putting him in danger. If he had known better he would have thought that she knew him, but he could not remember for the life of him where he would have met a gang member of her status before. As he wandered down the deserted alley he was in two minds. One said that he should listen to what the Rose had said and go back to the LEP then hand the mission off to someone else. The other side of him was saying that he should keep going no matter what, he would die anyway why not die taking down the biggest cult in the fairy underworld?

"I knew you'd come here today LEP," a rasping voice rang down the alleyway "that's why I was waiting here, waiting for my chance to kill you." An elf stepped out from a blacked out doorway, he was dressed in a biker's jacket and pants that Trouble had no doubts were made of real leather. His left hand was resting on a semi-automatic triple pulse plasma rifle, custom designed with a skull wrapped around the moulded handgrip.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I've already had my death threat quotient for today, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"I heard you were a wise guy Kelp, that's why I came prepared," the elf tossed his mane of white and black hair "you like the hair? They don't call me Eclipse for nothing." The elf, now known as Eclipse raised his rifle and flicked off the safety, "I'd really love to chat commander but this is my lunch break and I don't get many of those so I'll have to cut our conversation short, goodbye." Eclipse pulled the trigger with practised ease, sinking a shot into the commander's chest. "People say that all of life's questions are answered in death, drop by and tell me them sometime."

"Jolly," the sullen gnome who was standing guard on the back entrance to the Satanic Skulls HQ nodded in acknowledgement.

"Rose," he pulled a square piece of paper from one of his many duffel coats pockets, "the boss gave me this to give to you, he said it was important."

"Did he mention anything about the mission I'm on?"

"Nah, but I do remember Eclipse saying something about it."

"Really?" The Rose was curious "what did he say?"

"He was just muttering about that commander and how the boss had given you a mission that he knew was _out of your league_." The Black Rose's hands curled into fists,

"Where is he now?"

"He went out a few moments ago; I think he said something about helping you with the mission." The gnome paused "you seem worried, why?"

"I'm worried about Eclipse," she lied "If he gets himself killed I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Jolly thought for a moment,

"I think he went that way if it helps," he was pointing towards the alley she had just come down……the alley that led towards Commander Kelp.

"Gotta go!" She yelled as she ran off down the alley "if the boss asks I've found him."

Eclipse stood over the commander's motionless body, another job well done. Now he could go back to the boss, get his reward money and disappear to the surface for a few weeks, maybe he would be able to convince Rose to come with him. He was about to start off towards HQ when he heard footsteps behind him, he turned to find just the person he had wanted to see.

"Rose, baby," he grinned "I finished the job for you, how do you feel about a little holiday for two after I get my bounty?" The black clad girl who had just run around the corner dropped to the floor next to Eclipses latest victim.

"You idiot," she shouted "you D'Arviting idiot!"

"Hey, hey, slow it down here baby, I thought you wanted him dead."

"What did you do to him?" She screamed,

"I shot him," Eclipse patted the rifle on his thigh "It was a sweet shot too, right in the heart, he was dead before he hit the ground!"

"Shut up," the Rose growled "shut your mouth; I can't stand you, I HATE YOU!" She sprang from the ground and planted a fist under Eclipses jaw, "you deserve to die more than he did." Lost in her rage the Black Rose pushed the helpless elf up against the alley wall. Eclipse drew a sharp breath and keeled over dead, a hole where the base of his brainstem should be. The nail that had punctured his neck was rusted and old but it was still deadly. The black Rose stepped back, wobbling slightly, she had killed him-not intentionally but she had still killed him.

"You deserved it," she snarled and kicked his fallen body "you never did anything good in your life and you were a lousy boyfriend." She walked back over to kneel beside the fallen commander; she ran a finger over the triple acorn logo on his chest.

"I'm sorry," she said as a lone tear slid down her cheek "you should never have been sent here." She then reached down and found a gold chain that hung around his neck. The curse on the book is broken when its owner is no longer alive so any person can touch it without permission. It had been a long standing tradition among many underground cults to remove the book of a LEP officer that they killed and then take them back to there boss to prove that they had slayed the officer were the book was then promptly disposed of (burned) by a goblin. The Black Rose extended a slim finger towards the tiny book, she half expected it to combust when she touched it but if it didn't it would be the ultimate proof that the commander was dead. Tentatively she nudged it with her nail, it didn't crumble into thin air-he was dead. The Rose held the book on her palm for a few moments then opened a Velcro pocket on her hip and slipped it inside as she stood up stiffly. From another pocket she drew out a communicator, her fingers tracing the indented numbers in the darkness. She muted the phone as she pressed the buttons; one beep was all it could take to give her away.

"_Call connecting,_"Said an overly sweet voice in her ear "_would you like to dial another number while you are waiting?_"

"No," She said curtly, the dialling tone was buzzing painfully in her ear.

"_Call connected,_" the voice said after a few seconds.

"_Hello, this is-_" another overly sweet voice, although it sounded somewhat preoccupied.

"I know who this is; I need to speak to the boss."

"_Sorry but the boss-as you call her-is in an important meeting right now she will be unavailable for another forty-five minutes yet._"

"I don't think you get the importance of_ this, _just tell her that the mission went wrong-it's imperative that I speak to her."

"_Okay but it's your job on the line, I'm connecting you now." _After an agonisingly long wait a voice filtered through the speakers.

"_What is it?_"

"He's dead," there was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"_Who's dead?_"

"Commander Kelp, the man I told you about-Eclipse-he shot him in the heart."

"_Do you his book?_"

"Yes."

"_Pull out of there, now_."

"No."

"_Don't argue with me, it's too dangerous now-your covers blown get out of there before they kill you too_."

"Not before I get revenge, that cult needs to be brought down."

"_I have to go before Cahartez blows a gasket but, if you won't listen to me then maybe you'll listen to your friends-_" the line went dead for a moment then a ruff voice came through the speakers.

"_Unappreciated workers division how can I help you?_" The person waited for an answer that never came, "_sorry, I don't speak silence-do you possibly have a translation that you could send me?_" Again there was no answer, after a few moments of silence there was a burst of typing and a crunch that came down the phone line as a burst of static. "_Sorry to have to do this but if you won't-or can't-speak to me I will need to do a bit of hacking to find out who you are._" The Rose seemed to be stunned; she had been completely locked away from her life for the past god knows how many months-she was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

"_Aha, I have visuals, now to see who you are-" _for the second time in no less than five minutes there was a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the line. "_Holly_?"

"Yes Foaly," Holly managed to choke out.

"_Have you dyed your hair_," Foaly had his head turned on a ridiculous angle so it was almost in line with the desk. "_Are you wearing contacts_?"

"Yes and yes, I thought you knew I was on an undercover mission."

"_I did, I just didn't know where you were going_," the centaur studied her features harder "_what's wrong_?"

"Troubles…..Troubles dead."

"_What_?" Foaly had brought his head up so fast he had to wait for the world to stop spinning before he could speak again "_did you just say what I think you said_?"

"Yes Foaly, he's gone," Holly drew a deep breath "a gang member known as Eclipse in the underworld circles (there was a burst of key tapping in her ears) took him by surprise and shot once in the heart with a customised triple pulse plasma rifle."

"_Whoa, big gun_," Foaly murmured preoccupied "_I found him_!"

"Whatever you've found it's not going to be very interesting."

"_Oh but it is_," Foaly whinnied as he read through Eclipse's file "_real name Adam Mack, ran away from home when he was forty-two, been living on the back streets ever since. He's now one hundred and thirty-four and has reportedly assassinated at least a hundred people including the mayor of Atlantis back in '94-he's one mean piece of work, how did you run into him_?"

"He's a member of the gang the Satanic Skulls, I'm kind of being an impostor at the moment-a spy in their midst."

"_Who's brilliant idea was that_?" Foaly asked sarcastically.

"Wing-Commander Vinyaya's," Holly replied "why?"

"_Nothing_," Foaly changed the subject quickly "_what are you gunna do now_?"

"I'm going to go back in there and murder the boss and his cronies."

"_Oh ha ha Holly_," Foaly laughed "_now really, what are you going to do_?"

"I wasn't joking Foaly."

"_Oh, so this is all revenge then? You're going to sacrifice yourself to get revenge for the commander's death_?" This conversation sounded oddly familiar to Foaly, he could have sworn he had been in the same one three years ago over another commander's death.

"I'm not sacrificing myself Foaly-or at least I don't plan to."

"_But we both now how these plans always turn out_," Foaly was deadly serious now "_I know that I was supposed to convince you not to go but it seems that you are hell bent on this, though I think you should say goodbye to Artemis before you go_."

"Fine, but this better not take long and I'm not going to change my mind so tell him there's no point trying to manipulate me."

"_Okay, I'm putting yo u through now_." There was yet another beep and after a few seconds a sad sounding "_hello_?"

"Good morning mud boy," (it was 3am above ground) "what are you doing awake at this time of night?"

"_The twins have been left in my care and they won't go to bed_," Artemis was obviously annoyed "_Foaly told me what you're planning on doing and I don't think you should_."

"Like I've said before Fowl, I'm not changing my mind on this one."

"_That commander person was pretty special to you wasn't he_?"

"Duh," Holly spat "he was the commander of the LEP, he was special to everyone."

"_But I'm guessing there's more to it than that_;" Artemis couldn't help raise his eyebrows "_isn't there_?"

"He's been one of my best friends since I joined the LEP all those years ago mud boy," she was growling now "that's all." Artemis stopped himself from saying I don't believe you and they remained in silence for a few moments.

"_I guess I should say goodbye now then_," he said suddenly "_in case I don't see you again_."

"Stop being so melodramatic Artemis, you're not supposed to have emotions," even though she was evidently joking Artemis noticed the sadness in her voice.

"_I've changed since I met the fairies, I've changed since I met you_," it was strange to admit it to Holly's face but as soon as he said it he knew that it was true.

"I think I've noticed it Artemis, I like the new you better than the old one, but I can't help but miss that cold sarcasm that you-" Holly was cut off by a scream in the background on Artemis' end "what was that?"

"_That was Beckett_," Artemis said removing his hands from his ears "_I'd better go and make sure that their not killing each other, be careful Holly_."

"Aren't I always," the shadow of her usual cheeky grin crept across her face "I'll talk to you again later, good luck mud boy."

"You're the one who need the luck Major," Artemis sighed as he closed the communicator "you're the one who always ends up in running for your life while saving everyone else's at the same time." Artemis got up from his computer chair and stalked off to see if the twins were still alive.

**E.N** Now I should start running right? Yep...Runs away You can't kill me though because you wont get the next chapter if you do!

It should be up soon (Maybe two days)


	4. Resurrection

The whole world appeared to be holding its breath as Holly made her way back to the Skull's HQ. There was no one around, no movement in the darkness-the whole world was on mute. No lights shone in the deserted buildings that lined the asphalt road, not even the vermin of the underworld were out tonight. Usually the back streets were infested with swear toads and other disgusting creatures who watched over the streets with their beady black eyes. There were no swear words floating on the wind as Holly turned the corner and Jolly came into view.

"You seem upset Rose," the old elf said as she approached him "Why?"

"I couldn't find Eclipse," Holly lied quickly "I'm just worried that he got cleaned up by that LEP commander."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Jolly cracked his knuckles absently "what you doing here?"

"I want in," she said shortly.

"What's the password?" the elf grinned, he loved to mess the gang members around as often as he could.

"Let me in," Holly said quickly "and I think it's about time you considered changing the password."

"Hey, it's not me who makes up the passwords darling," Jolly groaned as he opened the door he had been standing in front of, "that's the boss's job, in you go-have a good time in there." Holly glared at him as she walked through the doorway into a dark, wet corridor that smelt of mildew and moss. The gang's headquarters was an endless maze of twisting hallways and dead end rooms. If you didn't know you're way around it would be quite easy to get lost and stay that way till someone heard you shouting, by then it would probably be too late anyway-not many gang members venture into the corridors for fear that they might become lost as well. She nodded in acknowledgment at the shadowy figures who navigated through the corridors around her. The plan at first had been quite simple, kill the boss using any means necessary, but now she was here it had all become a lot more complicated. If she had guessed right the boss would be in his private office on the top floor. That meant that she would have to first find the stairs that led up to his office, get past the guard at the door and draw her weapon before the boss realised what she was there to do. She had heard that the boss had once been a legendary hit man himself; if this was true then her mission had just become one hell of a lot harder.

Her body seemed to know where it was going even though her mind was lost in thought and all too soon Holly found herself approaching a large blast shield door. This was the boss's office, the security measurers were over the top, it was actually one of the safest places under the world. Holly raised one black gloved hand and knocked softly three times. There was a scuffling noise behind the door and an eye appeared at a small hole in the door.

"One moment," growled a voice from behind the door as the eye disappeared and footsteps grew closer. The heavy door swung on its hinges to reveal an old gnome standing in its shadow. "What do you want?" He was obviously not very happy today.

"I'd need to see the boss," Holly glared at him while trying to do her best gangster impression.

"What for?"

"I have news on the commander;" she had to suppress the urge to cry "I'm sure the boss will be interested in it." The elf considered her, as he stepped forward Holly noticed a slash across his face from ear to ear, it looked like he was grinning-permanently.

"Okay, you can go in," the elf stepped aside "and if the boss asks who let you in remember to tell him that I did or he'll take your head off with a softnose, your choice though." Holly walked past the gnome without thinking to ask his name, her legs felt like collapsing as she saw a boot hanging over the arm of an armchair at the end of the corridor. More and more of the person was revealed as she stepped closer until finally she had entered a cavernous room and there sat the Boss.

"Ah, Rose my dear," the Boss sat up in his chair "who let yo in here?" Holly remembered the old gnome's advice.

"The…ah, the gnome outside with the slash across…..he……Mr. Grin." She stuttered and finally the words slipped out of her mouth, she stood there now on the verge of being sick waiting for the elf to respond.

"Excellent my dear, excellent," the boss was grinning now "nobody else has ever guessed his name without a little help." He was rubbing his gun now; its metal casing gleamed evilly. "I heard that you had some news for me on that retched commander."

"Yes," Holly's hands were shaking so she stuffed them in her pockets "he's dead, I killed him."

"Wonderful!" The gang leader clapped his many ringed hands together "finally we are rid of his incessant probing." Holly breathed a sigh of relief; she had half expected herself to be discovered as soon as she walked in the door.

"Have you seen Eclipse lately Rose?" The Boss was still grinning "I haven't seen him around lately and I meant to give him another task to do." Holly had to think fast on this one.

"No, I haven't seen him since he said he was going out to try and track down the commander and that was at least an hour ago."

"No matter, I shall send someone out to find him later," the Boss grinned again, it was actually quite unnerving "did you get the note I sent to you?" Suddenly Holly remembered the square of paper that was sitting in her back pocket from when Jolly had given it to her as she went to find Eclipse.

"Yeah," she said uncertainly "Jolly gave it to me."

"And did you read it?" The Boss asked with his eyebrows raised "there was something important that I found out on it."

"Umm…."

"I'll take it that you didn't," the Boss said but for some reason he didn't seem upset with her "you must have been busy, you can read it now if you like." Holly was suspicious but she drew the piece of paper out of her pocket all the same. As she unfolded it she realised how strange this was, why didn't the boss just tell her what was written on the piece of paper without making her read it? When she had unfolded it she found only one word written in red ink across its crumpled surface. Her eyes widened as she read it, _traitor_Her heart was pounding against her rib cage now, how could he know? It was impossible, she had never told anyone, never done anything to give herself away, except-

"You thought that you could get away with it did you? Thought that you could outsmart me?" The Boss had jumped up from his chair now, his hand resting dangerously on the holster at his hip. "You probably want to know how I found out about you little Section 8 rat." Holly stood there horrified; this was all going terribly wrong.

"One of my hit men found something this morning when he was hunting on the back roads, bring him in Mr. Grin." The old gnome ambled in dragging what appeared to be a limp body, revulsion spread quickly through Holly's mind. "He found him face down in the dirt; the hair that we found on his jacket matches yours." How could she have been so stupid, she fought to keep her stomach from turning as she leant over to see who it was. It was Eclipse who lay motionless on the floor, eyes blank and clouded, if she had not been so possessed with the sweet idea of revenge she would have remembered to hide his body.

"No matter," the Boss said as he motioned for Mr. Grin to take the body away "I can always find another hit man, the big thing is that I have been betrayed." The elf paused to watch her reaction, in the silence Holly could have sworn she heard a faint crash from above but she ignored, if she broke eye contact with the crime lord she was sure he would kill her on the spot.

"I haven't betrayed you, Eclipse did," she was trying to lie her way out now, it was the only option "he tried to sabotage my mission, he told that bloody commander that we were on his tail, I had to dispose of him before he let anything else out. Although I do regret it there was nothing else that I could do." The Boss laughed at this and paced around the room in front of her.

"You've been well trained girly but you can't trick me," his hand was twitching on his thigh, if he pulled his gun before she could get hers up then she would be dead, no questions asked. "say goodbye." He flicked his gun up and held it at her head "don't even think about pulling your weapon, just say your last request." Holly just kept her mouth shut, it would be too much to ask for a rescue but she would have really liked to see her friends one last time.

"Ah, the silent type, I'll say it for you then shall I?" He waved the gun about elaborately as he thought of something to say "Coward. Your commander isn't even dead; you didn't have the guts to shoot him did you?" That was the one missing link; Trouble's body had been right next to Eclipses so why hadn't it been found? Maybe his body had been found by someone and taken away or thrown in a skip to be found by the city cleaners. Maybe.

"I'll remember to tell your friends at the LEP where you are," he was laughing manically now "maybe even send them your body as a present, goodbye." He dropped his gun to her heart and squoze the trigger, the room flashed momentarily red and then went completely silent.

The gun dropped out of the boss's hand as he looked at Holly in astonishment who looked just as stunned; a muffled _thump_ echoed through the room as a body hit the floor. There was a noise on the floor above and what seemed to be an elf jumped lithely over the banister to land with a soft _thunk_ on the ground. He straightened up and slid his neutrino back into its holster under his jacket.

"Alan Box, you're under arrest," he walked across and slapped a pair of cuffs on the crime lord's wrists "I'll read you your rights later shall I."

"Wh-what did you do to him?" Holly was on the verge of shock.

"He's unconscious, that's all, are you alright?" The elf stepped closer to her but she hastily backed away "you gave me quite a scare."

"Who are you?" Holly shouted "what do you want with me?"

"It's alright Rose," the elf hadn't realised who she was yet, that was the only way out that Holly had left now. The elf stepped into the light and she gasped "It's only me, Commander Trouble Kelp; I was the one that you were tracking in the alleyway." Her heart seemed to have stopped beating, the blood pounding in her ears though said otherwise.

"But you're….you're dead," small white specks appeared in her vision as she said those words; she pinched the bridge of her nose as if it might rid the spots.

"I know that's what it looked like but I wasn't-" Trouble began but Holly cut him off.

"The book…it let me…" her mind was struggling to provide the words for her mouth "this is a strange feeling" she said finally and blacked out.


	5. The End

When Holly woke-which she was surprised that she did-she realised that she was still in Alan Box's office, she was now sprawled in the armchair that the Boss had been in when she had first entered the room. There was someone knelt next to her as well, she could feel his fingers across her wrist-probably measuring her heart rate. The person next to her jumped slightly as she blinked and sat up.

"Are you alright?" Holly looked to her left at the person who was speaking and suddenly remembered who was with her.

"I-I think so," Trouble was leaning over her now, examining a cut on her forehead.

"I'm sorry Rose but as soon as the LEP shows up I'm going to have to hand you over to them, is Rose you're real name?" Holly was stunned for a moment, she just sat there staring at him, after a few moments she was able to choke out one word.

"No."

"Do you have a real name?" Trouble was staring at her now; his eyes were flickering over her face with a curious frown creasing his foreheads slightly.

"I-I," Holly couldn't get the words out "Trouble, I….." She gave up on speaking then but remembered another way to show him who she was. Holly reached up with quivering fingers towards her right eye; using one nail she carefully flicked the blue contact lense out of her eye to reveal her normal hazel one. Trouble's eyes widened and he jumped back from the chair that she was slumped in.

"Holly?" He whispered uncertainly.

"Trouble," she said, her voice cracking with emotion "I'm back." After a few moments of processing a grin flashed across Trouble's face, he stepped back towards her and took her hand in his, running his fingers over the creases and contours.

"It is you!" Trouble laughed for the first time in almost three years "how long have you been back?"

"Two months, I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you but Vinyaya requested that I go on this top secret mission of hers and I ended up here." Holly thought for a moment and then the question that she had been longing to ask slipped from her mouth "how come you're alive?" Trouble was still stunned but he managed to answer her question in a known form of Gnommish.

"Well when that guy with the strange hair-"

"Eclipse."

"Yeah, that one, well when he shot me he didn't realise I was wearing one of those new laser-proof vests under my jacket. Foaly created the a few months ago, I don't know the exact specifics but I think there made out of some sort of ultra-lightweight polymer resin. So when he shot me with his rifle the vest must have absorbed the laser fire but the shockwaves must have gone through and my brain must have told everything to shut down. So then you must have found my body and killed Eclipse-"

"How did you know that?"

"I saw his body when I came round, did you check to see if I was still alive when you found me?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean by sort of?"

"Well, I looked and you weren't breathing and then I remembered how we used to collect fallen officers books, so I took yours and it didn't combust when I touched it so that sort of proved that you were dead." Holly tentatively took his hand up from hers and lay two fingers across his wrist, searching till she found a strong pulse running thorough his veins. "But you certainly don't feel like a ghost."

"Because I 'm not, do you remember how I broke my collarbone on mission a few years back?" She nodded slightly in response "you were the recon officer who had gone up first and on the way back you made me sit still and pull off my jacket so you could get a look. Then you said you were going to heal it right?" Again she nodded; she knew were he was going with this.

"So to get to my collarbone you had to have your hands pretty close to my book and you been the smart one remembered to ask if you could touch it."

"So you think that the permission hasn't run out yet, even though it's been nearly six years since then?"

"I don't know but it seems that way," something in his pocket buzzed "sorry, I have to answer this." He stood up and walked towards Alan Box's desk, as he listened he sifted through a few papers on the former crime lord's desk. "Sure." He said after a few minutes of listening and hung up.

"Foaly thought we might need some help and so he's sent a retrieval squad, they'll be here in soon and Vinyayas decided to come and get you personally." Trouble sat on the arm of Holly's chair and studied her again, "why don't you take that other contact lense out?"

"What other contact lense?"

"You still have one in right?" Trouble examined her blue eye closer "what happened to you're eye?" He gasped when he noticed that there was no contact lense sitting over her pupil.

"It's a long story which no doubt you will want to hear so I'll explain it later," she smiled at him again "but you have to promise that you'll tell me which idiot promoted you to Commander." They both laughed at this, the joke had broken the odd stiffness that had still remained between them. There wasn't long for them talk though because before long the room was flooded with fairies waving guns around and tapping buzz batons menacingly against their hips.

"Commander," one of the officers stepped forward from the group and raised his visor to reveal the face of Captain Ash Vein-now major-"we have secured the perimeter and retrieval two is rounding up the rest of the gang members down stairs….." Ash drifted off as Commander Kelp stood up to reveal a female elf, dressed all in black who grinned at him from behind Trouble's back.

"Is that all Ash?" Trouble asked.

"Who is that Commander?" Vein tried to remain calm as he pointed towards the other elf.

"Don't you recognise me Ash?" Holly asked before Trouble could get a word in, she stood up so that the officers could see her.

"Captain Short?" Someone said from behind Vein, the elf who had spoke stepped forward now, raising his visor.

"Chix." Holly nodded quickly "I'm a Major now by the way."

"Blimey_ Major_, you're looking-"

"We should all get out of here," Trouble cut across Chix quickly, he was well aware of the sprites crush on Holly "we all have jobs to do and there what we should be doing." Most of the crowd cleared off to do their respective jobs, only three officers remained behind.

"Have you seen the Wing Commander anywhere Chix?"

"No," the sprite replied, his eyes where still on Holly.

"I want you to go and wait for her at the back entrance then, understood?" Chix snapped out of his daze with a disappointed look on his face.

"Yes sir," the sprite took one last glance at Holly and then stalked off towards the door, Trouble waited for him to go and then turned to the other two officers.

"Grub, take off your helmet." Troubles little brother ripped his helmet off and shoved it under his arm.

"You know Trub;" he started to whine almost instantly "these helmets are really-"

"I know there too hot and too cramped Grub, you've told me a million times," Trouble had learnt to ignore his brother's tendency to call him Trub "I want you to go back to Police Plaza and put my death certificate through the paper shredder."

"But Trub!"

"Go," the Commander said quickly and turned his back on his brother, Grub stalked off towards the door when he realised that he wouldn't be able to argue his way out of going. Trouble was about to relax and introduce the still stunned Ash to Holly when there was a soft knock at the door. He turned to see Wing Commander Vinyaya striding across the carpeted floor.

"How are you Trouble?" She asked "it was quite a surprise to hear that you'd died but that story will have to wait for another time."

"Thankyou Vinyaya," he sighed "you could have warned me that Major Short was working undercover."

"Then she wouldn't be working undercover would she?" The Commander was grinning as she said that "I trust that you're alright Holly."

"I'm fine," Holly had been standing in the background for the past few minutes; she still didn't feel very well though.

"I think you should go downstairs and get checked out by a medic anyway."

"No, I'm alright," Holly shook her head stubbornly then wobbled a bit as her vision flashed white. Trouble had his arm around her back before she could lose her balance anymore.

"I insist Holly;" Vinyaya had known that she wouldn't like the idea of seeing the warlocks "you're not looking very well from where I'm standing." Holly was about to protest again when Vinyaya stepped froward and took her by the arm.

"I'll take you there myself if I have to," she was grinning now as she turned to Trouble. The Commander in question took a step back, when Vinyaya grinned it could only mean one thing, she was up to something. "I'm sorry to take her away from you Commander; she can ask you out later." Holly blushed furiously and seriously considered elbowing her superior in the gut, but that would be as stupid as eating a raw stink worm. If Holly had been looking at Trouble then she would have noticed that his face was burning red as well, this could have been because his best mate Ash was laughing his head off behind him but Vinyaya didn't think so.

"You should both get back to work," she said instead and pulled a reluctant Holly off to the medics. Trouble stood there stunned, he was brought out of his daze when Ash slapped him on the back.

"Nice one mate," Ash was still laughing, tears had formed in his eyes and hew was clutching at his sides "you only just met her five minutes ago and she's already fallen for you." Trouble glared at Vein and punched him in the shoulder,

"Shut it Ash," Trouble growled but was secretly thinking the same thing. "What have I done?" He accidentally said out loud,

"What do you mean what have you done?" Ash had stopped laughing now but he was still grinning wildly "you have managed to get one step closer to having a girlfriend."

"But I never-"

"Don't lie," Ash was tempted to start laughing again "I've seen you when we have to sleep at the Plaza; you have a little photo of you and Holly when she was promoted to Captain. Every night you used to be whispering to something so one night I decided that I'd find out and when I leant down over the bunk bed railing I saw it on top of your wallet on the cabinet next to our bunk." Trouble remained silent for a moment; even though he did not believe in gods he used to pray that she would come back every night before he went to sleep.

"Promise you won't tell her," he said suddenly.

"Why would I do that?" Ash seemed to be serious this time but he ruined it with his next comment "I won't tell her till you get engaged." Trouble rugby tackled his friend to the floor and paused, about to hit him.

"I'll hold you to it," he laughed and helped Ash up.

"You know what Trouble?"

"What?"

"I want to place a bet."

"On what?" Trouble asked, suspicious.

"That you'll ask her out to dinner next week, go out for four months and then get engaged at the LEP ball."

"That's it Major Vein!" Trouble turned and shouted at his friend "your on traffic duty for the rest of you're life-and that won't be very long unless you stop talking right now!"

"Oh, touchy aren't we," Ash knew he was in danger but he couldn't help himself "that's so sweet!" He laughed wildly as he ran out of the door with Trouble running after him screaming various death threats, maybe Ash could run past the warlocks post on the way out of the building shouting _'just ask her' _ to embarrass Trouble further. With this thought in mind he put a little extra speed into his stride and made a beeline towards the foyer of the building…..


	6. Four Months Later

**A.N This is the last chapter cries but I'm putting the sequal up today and thats going to be good aswell (the sequal is set before this chapter)**

**Sorry about the point of view but I'm saving this particular scenario for a different fic. So sit back, relax and enjoy. (Sorry about the formatting, I will try to fix it up as best I can but it will still be pretty weird) NMEC's.**

**Article in Who's Who Haven magazine, Issue 63, four months later.**

**LEP Ball Not; Just for Dancing**

Article by Christina Probyn

The Annual LEP Ball has been on the 21st of November every year since 1498. This event is a gathering of every officer in the force form major police stations such as Police Plaza in Haven and City Deeps in Atlantis. Many other county police forces are also invited to this prestigious event. As many people know the event is held at the magnificent house of Lord Frond himself. The ball was first created so any promotions or merit awards that had been handed out over that year could be made official in front of the whole policing community. Who's Who Haven magazine has been invited to report on these events since they started all of those years ago. Usually these articles highlights are who got promoted, the commanders speech and what music was played. But, as you will find this article is a little different to its predecessors. I will of course start at the beginning of the night so you can all get a feel for the scene.

I remember last years ball fondly, fairies dancing, laughing and generally having a great time-this years ball felt just like all the others I've been to at first but soon it developed into something very different.

I took a sip of my nettle and beetle juice champagne as I sat down at the front table that is reserved for the press. At the table on my left all of the majors and commanders are sat waiting for the clock to strike the eleventh hour. I ran my eyes quickly over them all; most of them were dressed quite finely in tuxedos and silk dresses-quite a contrast to their everyday LEP uniforms. My eye caught on a few officers sat at the head of the table; I recognised them from many interviews and TV appearances.

Major Lili Frond (she had been chosen for promotion a few days ago) looked splendid in a blue silk dress (her fashion sense is one of the best under the Earth.) Next to her sat Major Ash Vein, he seemed to be struggling to keep himself from laughing (I only realised why after the ball). Across the table Wing Commander Vinyaya looked magnificent in her usual white dress. She was there on an invitation from the council. Beside her sat Major Holly Short, (as we all know she was transferred to the LEP three months ago after she saved herself and the crew of the prototype shuttle Prometheus after it was hijacked and sent to the moon, for more information see issue 42) she was looking rather beautiful in a green silk dress with lace sleeves. There was one more person sat at the head of the table, LEP Commander Trouble Kelp. His smile could have lit up the room, I noticed one of the junior officer's signal to him from behind the stage curtains and the Commander stood up just as the clock above our heads struck the eleventh hour. The whole room seemed to fall silent as he jumped up the steps two at a time and took something from the officer who was still standing in the curtains. I had just realised what had been handed over when the Commander held up a hand to silence the last few whispers that lingered in the hall. _"Thankyou,"_ he flashed a grin around the room _"welcome to the 509__th__ annual LEP ball, and may I say that you all look wonderful tonight." _He glanced down at the table he had been sat at moments ago and then continued _"I know we're all here to have some fun but before we can hit the dance floor or go off into a quite corner to eat dinner and have a laugh over a flute of spring water we have a few promotions to hand out. Could I please ask everyone to hold their applause to the end and place all communicators on silent?"_ There was a rustle in the background as everyone dug into their pockets to mute their communicators. I myself had to double check that my pager was indeed on silent and wasn't playing tricks on me again. _"Now that that is done," _he grinned again _"we shall get this awards ceremony underway."_ He called up all of the regional commanders first and then started to dig through the pile of badges and certificates that lay in neat piles on a tasselled table. Over a hundred awards were handed out in total, a few of the more recognisable ones were:

Captain Lili Frond-promoted to Major

Corporal Chix Verbil-promoted to Captain

Captain 'Ace' Rowe-promoted to Major

When the awards were all given out and the regional commanders had returned to their seats there was ear-splitting round of clapping. The Commander held up a hand for quite again and waited for a moment. (I noticed then that he was tugging at his cuff nervously-I knew for sure what he was going to do then) When everyone was quite he spoke again _"I'm sorry to keep you all from your food but it will only be for a few moments." _He paused, obviously putting together his speech in his head _"as you know tonight is for promotions" _there was a collective nod from the audience and he continued _"I have one last promotion to hand out."_ His hands were shaking now; even his voice was cracking slightly. _"This one is for someone quite close to me." _I grinned; this would be the biggest thing to happen all month. _"I've known this for a while, my best mate predicted it a few months ago, I think he must have created a self-fulfilling prophecy." _Major Ash Vein who had gone red in the face could no longer hold his laughter in made an odd noise and started choking. Major Lili Frond leant over and slapped him on the back. Commander Kelp was grinning now, his friends reaction must have given him the confidence to continue because he started to speak again. _"She has been one of my best friends since she joined the force almost fifteen years ago." _Wing Commander Vinyaya had moved from her seat to help Lili get Ash Vein to breathe again because he had turned a nasty shade of blue. _"This is a very special promotion, it only comes round once in everyone's lifetime so without further ado I'd like to call up Major Holly Short, front and centre." _Major Short looked stunned as she stood and carefully walked up the steps to stand next to Commander Kelp. She kept glancing at the table she had been at, probably wondering who had set her up this time. _"Holly." _Trouble said and she turned to face him immediately. _"I've wanted to ask you this for a while now and I realised that today would be the perfect opportunity." _He had said this last sentence so quietly that I had to strain my ears to her them. Commander Kelp reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He threw a small grin to Ash Vein who had only just stopped choking and got down on one knee. _"Will you marry me?"_

-The question that every woman wants to hear someday and most men dread saying. Major Short stood there for a few seconds staring at Commander Kelp, then a grin spread across her face. _"Why did you even bother to ask?" _She laughed _"of course I will!" _Commander Kelp jumped up and slipped the ring onto her finger (according to my sources the ring is a 24 carat white gold band with emeralds and diamonds inset-the exact number is unknown) At least half of the hall gave a standing ovation as Commander Kelp hoisted Major Short into the air and carried her back down to the Majors' table. I scanned the room again; this was turning out to be the best ball in a while. Major Vein was slapping his best mate on the back. Wing Commander Vinyaya and Major Lili Frond were huddled around Major Short examining her ring and from the corner of my eye I noticed two people appear from behind the stage curtains to sit at the majors table. Upon closer inspection it was the Section 8 technical advisor Foaly and his wife Caballine (for anyone who doesn't remember they were married a year ago to date)

After a small toast to Haven and its people we were let out onto the dance floor and that's where I spent most of the night. Foaly had been called out to help with some technical problems over in the DJ's booth. Ash Vein and Lili Frond were having a good time with some other mates over by the snack bar and Commander Kelp and Major Short were in the centre of the dance floor dancing with a few of the regional Commanders and their wives.

As the night wore on more and more fairies said their goodbyes and went home to (undoubtedly) sleep till noon the next day. I was rather closs to the middle of the dance floor now and had already started up a lovely conversation with Major Vein when I was blessed by Frond himself. Commander Kelp walked up and gave me a curious grin. _"Its Christina right?" _I was so shocked that he knew my name all I could do was nod _"I have a piece of gossip for your news rag." _My eyes widened, I had just stepped open the biggest scoop to hit Haven since the Koboi scandal. _"The weddings in March." _Before I could answer him though the Commander had to take an urgent call, something to with the Atlantean ambassador's children I think.

So to finish this article off I'd just like to extend my sincerest congratulations to the engaged couple. _May you have good luck, great friends and let us meet again all in good health._

Send your questions and gossip to Trouble Kelp laughed as he finished reading the article.

"What are you laughing at?" Holly asked beside him as she closed the book that she was reading.

"Nothing," he said grinning and lay his head back against his pillow "goodnight Holly."

"Goodnight Commander," she laughed and switched the light out "why do you insist on teasing those poor reporters?"

"It's my job," he laughed again and wrapped his arm around her "protect the people from the bad guys and save the day." He would have continued had he not noticed that Holly was already asleep; it would have to wait till another day then…….

**The End**

**E.N So thanks for reading this and look out for the sequal (should be up today!) Also seen as this was the last chapter of this I would love to hear from everyone who has being reading this (I need some feedback to help with the next fic!)**

**So thanks, and until the next time-_goodbye for now but not forever!_**


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